Largely, Nextdoor is a way for people to communicate with others in their neighborhood by posting notifications, announcements, events, lost-and-found notices, and even classifieds. Under each topic of conversation, other neighbors can comment and thank the author of the post. However, the site discourages most self-promotion. In otherwords, individuals and businesses are not allowed to post about themselves or their services.

While that’s still true, the company has found a nice way to include businesses in the regular online conversation of a neighborhood, while not being intrusive or turning the thing into a giant sales pitch. Businesses still can’t go into a community and hustle business. They can, however, have a presence. It’s more of a platform for neighbors to talk about the businesses they’ve worked with in the area. That’s what WebPunch is all about: creating positive chatter around your business.

Let’s get into some of the nitty gritty.

Signing Up with Nextdoor

This is the easy part. There are two ways you can initially get your business into the world of Nextdoor. One way is by claiming your business. Nextdoor already has a vast database of neighborhoods. Before starting a profile from scratch, click here to see if you can claim your business. You’ll be asked to input your business’s name, its city, state, or zip code. From there it’ll take you to a list of businesses you can claim. If your business is on the list, claim it and carry on.

If your business is not listed, no problem. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and there will be another button: “Not here? Create your business page.” From there it will ask you basic contact information and other details about yourself and your business. If you already have a personal Nextdoor account, you can link it up with your business profile. If you connect the two you will be able to answer inquiries to your business from your personal account without having to swap. . . sweet.

Something else we like about Nextdoor is its profiles. They are simple. As of now, you don’t need to scrutinize over an “About” section nor do you need to spend hours curating it like you may a Facebook or Linkedin profile. It’s pretty basic and includes a map pinpointing your business, a link to your website, recommendations, and some basic business details.

Getting the First Recommendation

People can search for a business in Nextdoor by typing in the name or category into a search bar or by scrolling through listed businesses in their categories. To show up in a search result or category, you must have at least one recommendation. That’s not so bad compared to other platforms.

If Nextdoor has your business on file and you are able to claim it without creating a new listing, you may already have one or more recommendations. Awesome. If not, you may have some extra legwork.

Like we mentioned in our first Nextdoor article, business owners need to be “hungry to respond.” Responding will be one of the best, easiest and first ways to get recommended in Nextdoor. Check your inbox regularly and pay attention to those notifications. Provide inquiries with quick, helpful responses. It’s not only a good way to get that initial recommendation, it’s also a great way to get integrated into your business’s community.

Another method would be to simply ask. Perhaps a customer of yours—new or return—is in your neighborhood. Like a survey, ask them to like your business on Nextdoor. If they had a good experience, they will be happy to take the time to click that recommend button and get you on the way to having a presence in the neighborhood.

Nextdoor may be just at the beginning of integrating businesses into their plan, but so far it’s looking good. It’s a great way to garner more conversation around your business, connect with your business’s neighborhood, and be a resource to your community. See for yourself on Nextdoor.com or contact WebPunch to get started. We would be more than happy to show you around.